It’s been such fun to watch our baby panda boy grow and develop here at the San Diego Zoo, and no one can deny that babies with milk moustaches of any species are beyond cute! But with five pandas in residence, a lot goes on here day to day. Everyone is thriving, including Gao and the “Sister Act,” Su Lin and Zhen Zhen. The girls have been charming visitors in the viewing area since just after breeding season, and over these last few weeks especially we’ve had lots of visitors from all over the world as so many American families are in back-to-school mode. The crowds have lessened, the weather is cooling off, and ZZ and Su Lin are doing just fine.
(more…)

It’s been one month now since the arrival of Asian elephants Tina and Jewel to Elephant Odyssey at the San Diego Zoo. Their most recent weights show that they have gained almost 200 pounds each! See video. Our goal is to continue offering a variety of foods to facilitate continued weight gain. Both are very vocal and full of personality. Their squeaks and squawks are so different from those of the rest of the herd. Elephants all have sounds as individual and unique as they are. Tina and Jewel are both very willing to participate in training sessions and genuinely enjoy interacting with us.
(more…)

We know everyone is eager to hear the results of this week’s panda cub exam, so here goes: Now 43 days old, the little cutie weighs 5.1 pounds (2.318 kilograms), which is an increase of 1.2 pounds (0.5 kilograms) from last week, and is 15.75 inches (40 centimeters) long. His eyes and ears have not opened yet. His teeth are just below the gum line but have not yet erupted.
(more…)

Have you ever remodeled your house? The construction noise and dust seem to go on forever. In the end, it’s all worth it! That is what San Diego Zoo polar bears Chinook, Kalluk, Tatqiq, as well as their keepers have been living with for what seems like months. But we’re getting through it fabulously! Although Kalluk wasn’t sure about it at first, he has now been promoted to construction supervisor and can often be seen watching the work in the new management yard while soaking his paws in the drinker on what we call reindeer ridge.
(more…)

Thanks to all of you for your concern about Bai Yun and her cub. Bai Yun did indeed take her youngster out into the sun room last night when she went out to feed. Our security staff, who check on the pandas several times each night after the San Diego Zoo is closed, found the cub resting comfortably on a pile of bamboo under the stars, with Mother a few feet away. All was fine, and all is fine again today.
(more…)

As we watch a new baby grow on the San Diego Zoo’s Panda Cam, we also watch two other kids grow into semi-adult and full-grown females. Su Lin and Zhen Zhen are doing extremely well as the summer hours have come to a close. The weather has cooled down a little bit, the Zoo itself has calmed down, and the girls are definitely relaxing. Taking full advantage of no longer having a full audience for 12 hours a day, they have spent most of their time sleeping and chowing down.
(more…)

When keeper Holly brought the panda cub out for his second exam yesterday, I was quite surprised at how big he was! Indeed, he is what we would call “well conditioned!” And with milk on his lips, too! What a cutie!!

At this point, the cub’s eyes and ears are still closed, and this is normal. We expect the eyes and ears to open any time now, most likely before he is about 50 days old. Although we can begin to feel teeth below the gum line, we would not expect to see the teeth until he is 11 to 12 weeks old at the earliest. His lungs sound good, and his heart sounds strong, and he gave us a few vocalizations during the exam. And Mom has been feeding him very well!! Everything looks great!
(more…)

Today was our newest panda cub’s second exam. This was my first time holding a panda cub, and he was much bigger than I expected! I carried him out from the den and handed him over to the two vets to examine. The baby gained nearly a pound this week: signs of a very healthy cub.
(more…)

There is an enclosure on Big Cat Trail at the San Diego Zoo where you’ll find a pair of large, carnivorous birds. Don’t worry, though! The southern ground hornbills are quite shy and not without a sensitive side, as some bird keepers began to notice earlier this summer.

A few months ago, keepers started to feed the hornbills from a different location. This new feeding location gave us a greater ability to monitor the birds’ health and activities. Initially, the birds—although large and somewhat intimidating in appearance—were too nervous about the change in routine to come and visit their keepers. But as they got used to their new feeding station, we started to see some behavior that we hadn’t seen before!
(more…)

Today, September 7, our giant panda matriarch Bai Yun is 18 years old! It’s hard to believe that in September 1996, this beautiful youngster made her debut in San Diego. Between her and adult male Shi Shi, they literally won the hearts of people all over the world! Born in China in 1991 at the Wolong Giant Panda Center, she was Wolong’s first captive-born panda! Her name in Chinese means “white cloud.”
(more…)